Lower rates might not fill Bremerton Marina's empty slips

LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN
There are plenty of open slips Wednesday at the Bremerton Marina.

BREMERTON - Port of Bremerton officials Tuesday considered but ditched the idea of lowering permanent moorage rates at the Bremerton Marina as a strategy to fill slips and chip away at a vacancy rate currently around 60 percent.

Neighboring marinas, including the port-owned Port Orchard Marina, are nearly full or at capacity, some with waiting lists of several years for larger slips. Lower rates appear to be a driving factor, said Steve Slaton, the port's director of marine facilities.

According to Gregg Faulkner, an assistant port manager for the Port of Brownsville, port commissioners there factor Kitsap's demographics into the rate schedule.

"They want to keep the marina priced to where the average Joe Blow can come in and moor his boat," Faulkner said.

But according to Slaton, that model might not work for the Bremerton Marina, which underwent a $34 million upgrade in 2008. The marina, whose smallest permanent slip is 36 feet, is geared more toward larger boats and a regional market. Other comparable marinas also are struggling, Slaton said.

Bremerton already is priced below other public ports, including Anacortes, Edmonds, Everett and Seattle. Only Olympia's rates are lower.

Port officials hoped boaters from around Puget Sound would make the new Bremerton Marina their home port, yet roughly 60 percent of its customers live in Kitsap County. If price is the name of the game, there are plenty of choices.

At Brownsville Marina, where $200.84 will get a month's moorage for a 38-foot boat, there's a five-year waiting list for boats more than 35 feet. Poulsbo charges $4.87 a foot, which works out to $185.06 per month for a 38-foot vessel. Port Orchard gets anywhere from $223.20 to $305.64 for a 36-foot boat, depending on if the slip were covered (no 38-foot rate is listed). Bremerton's 38-foot charge is $310.08 per month.

If Bremerton lowers its rates to the Port Orchard Marina level, occupancy would have to increase by 10 percent just to maintain current revenue, according to an analysis by Slaton. Lower rates to Poulsbo's level, and the port would need a guaranteed occupancy of more than 70 percent just to tread water.

Slaton said current trends in new boat sales — down 77 percent since 2007 — don't promise any such guarantee. Furthermore, surveys of exiting boat owners show that only about 6 percent had issue with moorage rates, suggesting a rate cut won't have the desired effect.

"I'm very concerned from a financial standpoint that if we consider reducing rates, it's revenue we won't be recovering for a very long time," Swanson said. "We need to focus on retaining the revenue we have and focus on increasing that revenue. Once you lower the base, that really becomes lost revenue forever."

The port is set for an annual review of marina rates in May and June. The board appeared swayed by Slaton and Swanson's arguments, and they agreed to hold off on any rate changes.

The port now will look to its new director of business development, Rich Peterson, to boost revenue from the Bremerton Marina. Peterson, former publisher of the Port Orchard Independent, doesn't start until April 23 but was at the meeting.

Commissioner Roger Zabinski said the port doesn't expect Peterson to come up with a magic bullet. He wants a "collaborative" discussion.

Slaton said the staff will review marketing history of the Bremerton Marina and use tried and true strategies, while looking for innovative marketing opportunities.